1 

s 


>&>* 


HISTORICAL  DISCOURSE, 


DELIVERED    BEFORE 


THE  FIRST  CHURCH  AND  SOCIETY  OF  WINDHAM,  CONN., 


DECEMBER    10TH,    1850. 


BEING     THE 


ONE  HUNDRED  AND  FIFTIETH  ANNIVERSARY 

.,  .•  .* 

OP     THE 
^ 

FORMATION    OF    THE    CHURCH. 


BY    JOHN    E.    TYLER, 

PASTOR. 


HARTFORD: 

PRESS   OF   CASE,  TIFFANY  AND  COMPANY. 
1851. 


GIVEN  TO  THE  PRESS  AT  THE  GENERAL  REQUEST  OF  THE  .MEM- 
BERS OF  THE  CHURCH  AND  CONGREGATION  BEFORE  WHOM  IT  WAS 
DELIVERED. 


HISTORICAL  DISCOUESE. 


"  REMEMBER  HIS  MARVELLOUS  WORKS  THAT  HE  HATH  DONE  ;  HIS  WONDERS,  AND 
THE  JUDGMENTS  OF  HIS  MOUTH." — Psalm  cv.  5 ;  also  1st  Chron.  xvi.  12. 

THE  words  of  my  text  are  a  portion  of  a  Psalm  prepared  by 
David,  and  delivered  into  the  hands  of  Asaph  and  his  brethren, 
to  be  sung  before  the  Lord,  on  a  memorable  day  in  Israel. 

The  Psalm  is  mainly  a  review  of  God's  dealings  with  his  an- 
cient people.  It  recalls  his  marvellous  works  from  an  early 
period  in  their  history,  and  frequently  exhorts  them  to  bring 
these  displays  of  power  and  mercy  into  grateful  remembrance. 
The  purport  of  the  Psalm  generally,  and  the  language  of  the 
text,  particularly,  inculcate  a  duty  which  commends  itself  to 
every  enlightened  understanding,  and  to  every  pious  heart. 

God  is  honored  by  his  people  in  a  suitable  remembrance  of 
his  dealings  with  them ;  and  the  exercise  of  recalling,  and  con- 
sidering the  ways  in  which  he  has  led  them  as  individuals,  as 
families,  as  churches,  as  communities,  is  calculated  to  promote 
their  spiritual  welfare  by  awakening  a  sense  of  dependence  on 
God,  confidence  in  his  character  and  government,  and  gratitude 
for  his  unmerited  goodness 

Fifty  years  ago  this  day,  the  people  composing  this  church 
and  religious  society  assembled  in  their  place  of  public  worship 
to  call  to  remembrance  the  works  of  the  Lord  toward  themselves 
and  their  fathers,  for  the  period  of  ONE  HUNDRED  YEARS  of  their 
history.  We  have  assembled  this  day,  the  same  church,  the 
same  society,  but  a  different  people,  to  call  to  remembrance  the 
works  of  the  Lord  toward  us  and  our  fathers,  for  the  period  of 
ONE  HUNDRED  AND  FIFTY  YEARS.  A  century  and  a  half  has 
passed  since  the  organization  of  this  church,  in  a  wilderness 

2012520 


portion  of  the  Colony  of  Connecticut,  which  has  become  the 
parent  of  other  churches,  on  the  north,  on  the  east,  and  on  the 
west,  whose  representatives  here  with  us  to-day  we  welcome, 
as  entitled  to  participate  in  commemorating  the  hundred  and 
fiftieth  anniversary  of  the  birth-day  of  their  mother. 

It  is  hoped  that  it  may  not  be  without  profit  to  us  to  look 
over  the  history  of  God's  providence  relating  to  this  church 
and  people,  from  the  early  beginnings  till  the  present  time. 

The  first  English  habitation  in  the  territory  now  known  as 
the  town  of  Windham,  was  erected  in  1689,  by  Lieut.  John 
Gates,  a  Puritan,  supposed  to  have  been  a  member  of  Crom- 
well's army,  who  fled  from  England  on  the  accession  of  Charles 
II.  to  the  crown  of  Great  Britain.*  The  name  by  which  he  is 
known  may  not  have  been  his  original  name.  It  is  possible  that 
it  was  assumed  for  security  against  British  spies,  who  were 
ready  to  seize  in  any  place,  any  and  all  persons  who  had  ren- 
dered themselves  obnoxious  to  the  despotism  of  the  Stuarts. 
He  came  first  to  Virginia,  but  not  regarding  himself  as  suffi- 
ciently secure,  he  procured  a  servant  and  came  to  New  York, 
then  to  Norwich,  and  then  to  the  retired  plantation  of  Wind- 
ham.  The  name  of  John  Gates,  whether  a  true  or  fictitious 
name,  deserves  to  be  remembered  with  honor  by  us  and  by  our 
posterity,  as  it  has  been  by  our  fathers  before  us.  This  town, 
and  other  towns  in  our  neighborhood  that  once  constituted  a 
part  of  this,  even  now  enjoy  the  benefit  of  an  annual  appropria- 
tion of  money  for  the  support  of  common  schools,  the  product  of 
his  liberality.  A  portion  of  the  small  vested  fund  possessed  by 
this  church,  was  his  gift.  Also,  a  portion  of  the  communion 
plate,  which  we  still  make  use  of  in  commemorating  the  Sa- 
viour's dying  love. 

Lieut.  Gates  was  evidently  a  man  of  property ;  and  his  works 
testify  that  he  was  a  man  of  intelligence,  enlarged  generosity, 
and  true  puritan  enterprize.  From  the  time  when  the  first  hab- 
itation .was  erected,  it  would  appear  that  the  settlement  of  the 
. ^^ ^___^ ^ ^^  f 

•  The  land  which  embraces  the  town  was  given  in  1675  to  a  certain  number 
of  gentlemen  named  as  legatees  in  his  last  will,  by  Joshua,  Sachem  of  Mohe- 
gan.  It  was  partially  surveyed  in  1676,  and  the  main  street  was  laid  out. 
Purchases  were  made  for  settlement  in  the  two  following  years. 


place  increased  with  great  rapidity ;  for  in  three  years,  that  is, 
in  1692,  (May  12,)  the  settlers  obtained  from  the  Assembly  the 
grant  of  Town  privileges.  It  was  in  advance  of  all  the  other 
towns  of  this  county  in  the  date  of  its  settlement ;  and  for  a 
considerable  period  was  one  of  the  most  prominent  towns  in  the 
eastern  part  of  the  state. 

At  the  first  town  meeting  holden  after  town  privileges  had 
been  conferred,  (June  llth,  1692,)  among  other  proceedings, 
this  important  vote  was  adopted  : — "  Voted  to  apply  to  Mr. 
Samuel  Whiting  for  the  purpose  of  carrying  on  the  work  of  the 
ministry."  Mr.  Samuel  Whiting  was  the  son  of  Rev.  John 
Whiting,  of  Hartford.  He  is  supposed  to  have  come  to  Wind- 
ham  at  the  beginning  of  the  year  1693  ;  and  tradition  declares 
that  he  preached  his  first  sermon  on  the  first  day  of  the  year, 
the  first  day  of  the  week,  from  the  first  chapter  of  the  Bible,  and 
from  the  first  verse.  There  is  good  reason  to  believe  that  this 
tradition  is  well-founded.  Mr.  Whiting  is  represented  to  have 
been  a  man  of  excellent  abilities,  rendering  him  highly  useful  in 
the  civil  transactions  of  the  town  ;  and  he  is  known  to  have 
assisted  in  gathering  many  of  the  churches  in  the  county. 

"  In  May,  1693,  as  an  inducement  to  tarry  with  them  four 
years,  the  settlers  offered  him  fifty  pounds  a  year,  an  allotment 
through  all  the  division  lots,  and  to  build  him  an  house  two 
stories  high,  and  eighteen  feet  square.  In  1697,  they  gave  him 
a  call  to  ordination.  In  1697  the  call  was  repeated,  and  eighty 
loads  of  wood  added  to  his  salary.  December  4th,  1700,  he  was 
ordained ;  and  on  the  10th  of  December,  1700,  the  church  was 
gathered,  and  he  was  gathered  with  it  as  pastor.  His  salary 
was  afterwards  raised  to  100  pounds  and  his  wood." 

Fifteen  male  persons  became  members  of  this  church  in  its 
organization.  Of  these,  eleven  have  been  recovered  from  the 
defaced  records  left  by  Mr.  Whiting.  They  are  as  follows : 
Rev.  Samuel  Whiting,  Deacon  Thomas  Bingham,  Deacon  Jo- 
seph Carey,  Joshua  Ripley,  Thomas  Huntington,  Joseph  Hunt- 
ington,  John  Backus,  Jeremiah  Ripley,  Jonathan  Crane,  Joseph 
Hebard,  and  Samuel  Abbe.  These  are  therefore  the  names  of 
some  of  the  very  early  and  prominent  inhabitants  of  the  town. 
If  a  letter  may  be  presumed  to  have  been  conveyed  from  Wen- 


6 

ham,  Mass,  to  this  place,  in  the  time  intervening  from  October 
29th,  to  December  10th,  the  following  persons  should  also  be 
reckoned  among  the  number  gathered  with  the  church  at  its 
organization,  viz :  John  Abbe  and  Robert  Hebard,  with  their 
wives,  Hannah  Abbe  and  Mary  Hebard ;  for  there  is  a  letter 
of  antique  dimensions  preserved  on  the  cover  of  the  church 
records,  dated  "  Wenham,  October  29th,  1700,"  dismissing 
these  persons  from  the  church  in  the  aforesaid  place,  and 
recommending  them  as  suitable  individuals  to  "  join  with  others 
in  gathering  and  erecting  a  church  at  Windham."  This  letter 
concludes  with  this  language,  "  We  commend  you  all,  with  your 
pious  and  Christian  design,  to  the  guidance  and  conduct  of  the 
blessed  and  effectually  quickening  spirit  of  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  praying  he  would  be  with  you  in  that  weighty  worke  ; 
helping  you  to  build  up,  and  to  be  further  built  up  in  the  king- 
dom of  his  grace  here,  being  preserved  blameless  and  brought 
to  his  kingdom  of  glory  hereafter :  The  grace  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  be  with  you  all,  Amen. 

Yours  in  the  Lord,  Joseph  Gerrish,  Pastor,  with  the  consent 
of  the  Brethren  of  the  Church  of  Christ  att  Wenham." 

Mr.  Whiting  labored  as  a  minister  in  this  place  thirty-two 
years,  and  was  pastor  of  the  church  twenty-five  years.  He 
married  the  sister  of  Rev.  Eliphalet  Adams,  of  New  London,  by 
whom  he  had  thirteen  children, — eight  sons,  and  five  daughters. 
He  died  of  the  pleurisy,  at  Enfield,  while  on  a  visit  to  his  friends, 
September  27th,  1725,  in  the  fifty-sixth  year  of  his  age.  It  is 
said  that  on  his  death-bed,  he  made  two  special  prayers,  one 
for  his  family,  and  one  for  the  continuance  and  prosperity  of  his 
church. 

During  the  latter  part  of  Mr.  Whiting's  ministry,  it  pleased 
the  Lord  to  pour  out  his  spirit  upon  the  people  of  this  place, 
and  a  very  interesting  and  distinguishing  revival  of  religion  was 
enjoyed.  Perhaps  there  is  no  record  of  any  revival  in  our  coun- 
try at  that  early  day,  which  equalled  this  in  extent  and  power. 
In  the  space  of  six  months,  eighty  individuals  were  added  to  the 
church,  as  the  joyful  fruits  of  this  spiritual  refreshing. 

President  Clap,  in  a  letter  to  Rev.  Mr.  Pierce,  of  Boston, 
having  remarked  on  the  event,  that  so  large  a  number  were 


brought  into  communion  with  the  church  in  so  short  a  period, 
says  that  it  was  "without  extraordinary  apparent  occasion,  but 
through  the  secret  operation  of  the  spirit  of  God  upon  their 
hearts."  He  meant,  doubtless,  that  it  was  in  connection  with 
the  faithful  use  of  only  the  ordinary  means  of  grace. 

In  acknowledgment  of  the  goodness  of  God,  the  church  set 
apart  a  day  of  thanksgiving,  and  Mr.  Whiting  delivered  a  ser- 
mon from  1st  Thess.  iii.  8.  For  now  we  live,  if  ye  stand  fast 
in  the  Lord.  The  sermon  was  published  at  the  time,  in  New 
London,  with  an  introduction  by  Rev.  Mr.  Adams.  It  confirms 
the  opinion  naturally  derived  from  the  history  of  his  ministry 
here,  that  he  was  an  able,  faithful,  and  zealous  preacher  of  the 
gospel.  The  doctrine  he  deduces,  supports,  and  improves  from 
the  text,  is  thus  quaintly  expressed  :  "  All  godly  persons,  and 
especially  they  that  have  taken  pains  with  people  for  their  good, 
will  be  much  refreshed  and  comforted,  and  it  will  help  to  balance 
the  trouble  they  meet  with,  when  they  that  have  been  brought 
over  to  the  acknowledgment  of  the  truth,  do  stand  fast  in  the 
Lord." 

Mr.  Adams  makes  the  following  observations  in  the  intro- 
duction to  this  sermon  : 

"  It  seems  to  be  something  necessary  that  some  account  should  be  given  of 
the  occasion  of  the  ensuing  discourse,  and  it  may,  (through  the  blessing  of  God,) 
be  useful  unto  many,  when  they  shall  hear  of  the  grace  of  God  unto  others,  and 
how  he  hath  been  mercifully  pleased  to  visit  his  people.  Windham  is  a  town 
of  about  some  thirty  years  standing,  where  the  Rev.  Mr.  Samuel  Whiting  hath 
been  improved  in  the  work  of  the  ministry,  even  from  their  beginning.  God 
hath  been  pleased  to  make  him  a  very  rich  blessing  among  them,  and  doubtless 
many  will  have  reason  to  bless  God  forever,  in  that  their  lot  hath  been  cast  to 
dwell  under  his  ministry.  Not  only  hath  he  seen  the  town  flourishing  to  that 
degree  in  this  short  space  of  time,  as  that  two  other  societies  have  sprung  out 
therefrom,  but  he  hath  had  the  comfort  to  observe  that  many  living  and  serious 
Christians  have  been  born  there,  and  that  his  labor  hath  not  been  in  vain  in  the 
Lord. 

But  of  late  there  has  been  a  greater  stirring  than  ordinary  among  the  dry 
bones.  Many  have  been  awakened  to  consider  and  inquire  with  a  great  deal 
of  earnestness,  what  they  should  do  to  be  saved.  Persons  of  all  ages  and  some  of 
whom  there  was  but  little  expectation,  have  come  together  weeping  to  seek  the 
Lord  their  God,  so  that  within  the  compass  of  about  half  a  year,  there  have 
been  four  score  persons  joined  to  their  communion,  and  more  are  still  dropping 

in,  so  mightily  doth  the  word  of  God  grow  and  prevail  among  them 

Could  their  revered  pastor  have  been  prevailed  upon  so  far  to  have  gratified  the 


8 

public,  we  might  have  been  more  curiously  entertained  with  the  knowledge  of 
many  particulars  which  ought  not  to  be  forgotten,  while  the  Holy  Spirit,  like 
the  wind  that  bloweth  where  it  listeth,  hath  been  dividing  to  every  one  sev- 
erally as  it  will,  in  this  day  of  their  visitation ;  but  at  present  we  must  be  con- 
tent with  this  short  and  imperfect  account. 

In  the  mean  time  it  is  surprising  to  see  what  an  happy  alteration  there  is 
made  when  God  is  pleased  to  bless  the  dispensation  of  the  Gospel,  and  the  in- 
stitutions of  his  house,  and  confirm  his  word  in  the  mouths  of  his  servants.  .  .  . 

Oh  that  the  same  good  spirit  from  on  high  were  poured  out  upon  the  rest  of 
the  country,  for  what  pity  is  it  that  this  single  place  only  should  be  wet  with  the 
dew  of  heaven,  while  the  rest  of  the  ground  round  about  remains  (comparatively) 
dry."* 

The  ministry  of  Mr.  Whiting  was  a  period  of  peculiar  reli- 
gious prosperity  with  our  fathers.  It  was  a  day  of  the  right 
hand  of  the  Most  High.  The  Lord  then  heard  the  prayers  of 
his  saints,  and  he  was  gracious  to  the  families  of  his  people. 
This  godly  minister  left  in  the  church  on  his  decease,  TWO  HUN- 
DRED AND  SIXTY-FOUR  MEMBERS,  all  received  into  communion  by 
himself,  excepting  the  few  who  composed  the  church  at  its 
formation. 

When  intelligence  reached  Windham  that  Mr.  Whiting  had 
been  removed  from  his  connection  with  the  church  on  earth 
to  enter  on  the  reward  of  his  labors  above,  the  people,  with  one 
accord,  set  apart  a  day  of  fasting  and  prayer,  to  express  in  a 
suitable  manner,  a  sense  of  their  bereavement,  and  to  seek  the 
Lord's  direction  in  their  destitute  estate.  The  ministers  in  the 
neighborhood  were  invited  to  spend  the  day  with  them.  They 
complied  with  the  invitation ;  and  before  returning  home,  re- 
commended to  the  people,  that  they  should  send  to  Cambridge 
College  for  a  candidate.  This  recommendation  was  followed  ; 
and  within  three  months  from  the  removal  of  their  former  pas- 
tor, Mr.  Thomas  Clap  was  sent  to  them. 

Mr.  Clap  commenced  his  labors  immediately,  and  gave  gen- 
eral satisfaction.  After  preaching  about  seven  months  as  a 
candidate,  he  was  ordained  August  3d,  1726.  Rev.  Mr.  Adams, 
of  New  London,  brother-in-law  of  their  first  minister,  delivered 
the  discourse  on  the  occasion. 

The  provision  made  for  the  support  of  Mr.  Clap,  was.  for  that 


*  There  was  no  unusual  attention  to  religion  in  any  other  of  the  congregations 
in  the  neighborhood,  at  this  time. 


9 

period,  very  generous.  They  gave  him  £300  settlement — a  gift 
outright,  to  enable  him  to  begin  life  as  a  minister  with  comfort, 
to  provide  necessary  books,  and  to  enter  the  connubial  state 
without  embarrassment — and  £100  annually,  with  £10  extra 
for  his  wood.* 

Mr.  Clap  performed  the  duties  of  a  minister  in  this  place 
about  fourteen  years,  and  was  pastor  of  the  church  over  thir- 
teen years.  He  is  more  generally  known  to  the  public  than  his 
predecessor,  and  perhaps  more  generally  known  than  any  one 
who  has  come  after  him,  in  the  ministry  here. 

He  left  Windham  on  a  call  to  the  presidency  of  Yale  College, 
and  was  at  the  head  of  that  institution  till  a  year  before  his 
death,f — twenty-seven  years. 

Mr.  Clap  was  an  earnest,  laborious,  systematic,  and  indefa- 
tigable man,  during  his  ministry  here,  and  while  he  was  con- 
nected with  the  college. 

In  one  of  the  manuscripts  that  escaped  the  ravages  of  the 
British  soldiers  at  New  Haven,  J  containing  some  minutes  of  his 
life,  the  following  interesting  entry  is  found,  relating  to  his  min- 
istry in  Windham : 

It  bears  date  January  1st,  1737. 

"  I  have  this  last  week  finished  my  pastoral  visitation  of  each  family  in  my 
parish,  and  catechising  the  several  children  in  them.  And  I  have  also  taken 
down  the  names  and  ages  of  every  one,  that  so  I  might  have  more  knowledge 
and  clear  remembrance  of  every  soul  committed  to  my  care  and  charge,  and 
the  circumstances  and  condition  of  each  particular  person.  I  find  the  number 
of  them  to  be  722 — a  great  number  of  souls  to  depend  upon  the  care  of  one 
weak  and  sinful  creature, — may  God  direct  and  enable  me  to  go  through  this 
great  work  and  charge,  that  I  may  bear  the  names  and  circumstances  of  every 


*Mr.  Clap  was  born  at  Scituate,  Mass.,  June  26,  1703.  His  parents  were 
Stephen  and  Temperance  Clap.  He  entertained  a  hope  of  his  conversion  at  the 
age  of  seventeen,  while  a  member  of  Cambridge  College.  He  completed  his 
collegiate  course  in  1722.  In  1725,  December  31,  he  came  to  Windham,  in 
order  to  settlement.  He  was  ordained  August  3,  1726.  Windham  Church 
Records. — Minutes  of  his  life  in  manuscript. — Dr.  Daggett's  Sermon  at  President 
Clap's  funeral. — Dr.  Allen's  Am.  Biog.  and  His.  Dictionary. — Rev.  Elijah  Wa- 
terman's Cent.  Sermon,  etc. 

t  He  died  January  7,  1767. 

J  His  valuable  manuscripts  were  plundered  in  the  expedition  against  New 
Haven,  under  General  Tryon.  Among  them  were  materials  for  a  history  of 
Connecticut. 


10 

one  upon  my  heart  at  all  times,  and  especially  when  I  approach  unto  the 
Throne  of  Grace,  as  Aaron  bore  the  names  of  the  children  of  Israel  on  the 
breastplate  upon  his  heart,  when  he  entered  into  the  Holy  place  ;  and  may  God 
pour  out  the  plentiful  effusions  of  his  Holy  Spirit  upon  all  those  who  are  com- 
mitted to  my  care  and  charge,  and  cause  religion  to  have  a  real  and  powerful 
influence  upon  all  their  hearts, — that  our  young  persons  may  be  favored  and 
blessed  with  an  early  conversion  from  sin  to  holiness, — that  the  rising  genera- 
tion may  seek  the  God  of  their  fathers,  be  truly  pious,  and  closely  adhere  to  the 
principles  and  practices  of  religion, — that  the  middle  aged  may  not  be  so  en- 
gaged in  the  cares  and  hurries  of  this  world  as  to  neglect  the  great  concerns  of 
their  souls ;  and  that  those  who  are  advanced  into  old  age,  may  be  powerfully 
assisted  and  directed  in  their  last  and  finishing  work.  And  may  he  excite  and 
assist  me  to  lay  myself  out  every  way  that  lies  in  my  power  to  forward  and 
promote  the  salvation  of  their  souls."* 

The  testimony  which  has  come  down  to  the  present  time, 
relative  to  the  talents,  literary  and  theological  attainments,  and 
the  moral  worth  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Clap,  is  of  a  uniform  character. 
He  had  a  respectable  knowledge  of  the  Latin,  Greek,  and  He- 
brew languages,  but  was  less  distinguished  in  this  department 
of  learning  than  in  some  others.  "In  the  higher  branches  of 
mathematics,  in  astronomy,  and  in  the  various  departments  of 
natural  philosophy,  he  had  probably  no  equal  in  America,  ex- 
cepting Professor  Winthrop,  of  Cambridge."  "  He  constructed 
the  first  orrery  that  was  made  in  America."! 

*  The  census  of  the  parish  alluded  to  in  this  extract  from  Mr.  Clap's  man- 
uscript is  preserved  in  his  own  hand-writing,  and  is  now  in  the  possession  of 
the  writer  of  this  discourse,— one  leaf  only  missing.  There  were  120  families, 
722  individuals. 

His  own  family  is  recorded  thus, —    The  Dyer  family  is  recorded  thus, — 
"  Thomas  Clap,.  June  26,  1703.  "  Capt.  Thomas  Dyar,  May  15,  1694. 

a  Mary  Clap,  April  25,  1729.  Lydia  Dyar,  January  15,  1695. 

Temperance  Clap,  April  29,  1732.      Mary  Dyar,  January  31,  1719. 
Pompey,  Negro,  about  1713.  6  Eliphalet  Dyar,  September  14,  1721. 

Phillis,  Negro,  about  1717.  Lydia  Dyar,  July  12,  1724. 

Tamar,  Negro,  December  18, 1736."  Eunice  Dyar,  June  5,  1727. 

Ebenezer  Fitch,  July  12, 1724. 

Cuffee,  Negro,  about  1711. 

Hagar,  Negro,  1716." 
|  Am.  Biog.  and  His.  Dictionary. 

a  His  wife  had  died  a  few  months  before. 

b  Colonel  of  regiment  raised  in  1758,  for  the  expedition  against  Crown  Point, 
Agent  for  Colony  to  Great  Britain, — Delegate  to  the  Congress  of  176<3,  and  to 
that  of  1774,— Appointed  Judge  in  1776,  and  Chief  Justice  in  1739. 


11 

The  college  at  New  Haven  received  a  new  impulse  when  he 
entered  on  the  duties  of  the  presidency.  "His  great  mind  and 
extensive  literature  made  it  reputable  at  home  and  abroad." 
"  Connecticut  Hall,"  one  of  the  college  edifices,  and  the  only 
one  of  so  great  antiquity  that  has  survived  the  ravages  of  time, 
was  built  through  his  enterprise,  and  under  his  superintendency. 
He  laid  the  foundation  stone,  and  in  1752  saw  the  building 
completed.  At  that  time  it  was  the  best  building  in  the  colony. 
A  considerable  portion  of  the  money  employed  in  erecting  this 
edifice,  was  raised  by  a  lottery  which  the  Assembly  granted  for 
the  accomplishment  of  the  enterprise.  The  avails  of  a  French 
prize  were  also  appropriated  to  this  object  by  the  Assembly.* 

He  is  represented  as  having  been  a  solid  and  impressive 
preacher,  without  any  superior  talent  in  the  art  of  speaking ; 
his  matter  fixing  the  attention  of  his  auditors,  more  than  his 
manner.  His  religious  sentiments  accorded  with  the  Calvinism 
of  the  Westminster  divines.  He  opposed  Mr.  Whitefield,  mis- 
apprehending the  character  and  objects  of  this  great  and  excel- 
lent man.  In  this,  however,  he  was  associated  with  many  of 
the  leading  ministers  of  Connecticut. 

During  his  connection  with  this  church  he  received  into  com- 
munion two  hundred  and  nineteen  individuals.  He  adminis- 
tered the  ordinance  of  baptism  to  four  hundred  and  seventy-five, 
including  adults  with  the  children,  a  very  large  proportion  of 
them  being  of  the  latter  class. 

It  appears  on  the  records  of  the  church  that  while  Mr.  Clap 
was  the  minister,  twenty-nine  persons  "owned  the  covenant." 
It  may  be  deemed  a  favor  by  some  of  my  hearers,  if  I  should 
explain  what  is  intended  by  this  language.  The  owning  of  the 
covenant  was  an  act  of  persons  who  were  not  prepared  to  be- 
come professors  of  religion  in  full,  but  were  ready  to  promise 
in  a  public  manner,  by  assenting  to  a  written  covenant,  that 
they  would  abstain  from  prevailing  sins,  and  live  according  to 
the  commandments  of  God.  The  practice  had  its  rise  in  the 
proceedings  of  a  synod  that  met  in  Boston,  in  1662.  In  Con- 
necticut, it  was  first  brought  into  use  in  the  case  of  young  per- 


*  Dr.  Trumbull's  History,  Vol.  II.  B.  12. 


12 

sons.  After  this  solemn  act  they  were  in  a  sense  members  of 
the  church,  but  did  not  participate  in  the  ordinance  of  the  Lord's 
Supper.*  When  they  became  parents  they  brought  their  chil- 
dren forward  for  baptism,  on  the  ground  of  this  partial  connec- 
tion with  the  church.  After  a  short  period,  it  was  customary 
for  those  only  who  had  entered  the  marriage  state,  and  had 
children  they  desired  should  be  admitted  to  the  ordinance  of 
baptism,  to  own  the  covenant.  The  form  of  the  covenant  first 
introduced  in  this  state  is  preserved  in  Dr.  Trumbull's  History. 
It  was  adopted  at  Hartford,  February,  1696,  and  was  "owned" 
almost  immediately,  by  a  large  number  of  youth  in  that  city. 
The  covenant  was  in  these  words : 

"  We  do  solemnly,  in  the  presence  of  God,  and  this  congregation,  avouch 
God  in  Jesus  Christ  to  be  our  God,  one  God  in  three  persons,  the  Father,  the 
Son,  and  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  that  we  are  by  nature  children  of  wrath,  and 
that  our  hope  of  mercy  with  God  is  only  through  the  righteousness  of  Jesus 
Christ  apprehended  by  faith  ;  and  we  do  freely  give  up  ourselves  to  the  Lord, 
to  walk  in  communion  with  him,  in  the  ordinances  appointed  in  his  holy  word, 
and  to  yield  obedience  to  all  his  commandments,  and  to  submit  to  his  govern- 
ment. And  whereas,  to  the  great  dishonor  of  God,  scandal  of  religion,  and 
hazard  of  the  damnation  of  many  souls,  drunkenness  and  uncleanness  are  pre- 
vailing amongst  us,  we  do  solemnly  engage  before  God,  this  day,  through  his 
grace,  faithfully  and  conscientiously  to  strive  against  these  evils  and  the  tempta- 
tions leading  thereunto." 

This  form  may  have  been  substantially  the  one  employed 
here,  and  by  the  churches  generally.  In  case,  however,  of  some 
of  the  churches,  it  is  supposed  that  they  employed  in  this  recep- 
tion of  members  to  a  partial  connection,  the  same  covenant  that 
was  adopted  when  members  were  received  into  full  communion. 

This  "half-way  covenant  plan,"  as  it  has  sometimes  been 
called,  had  its  origin  in  the  close  intimacy  of  civil  and  ecclesi- 
astical affairs  in  our  early  history,  and  in  the  low  state  of  religion 
at  the  period  when  it  arose.  It  was  strenuously  opposed  from 
the  beginning  by  some  of  the  best  ministers  and  Christians,  and 
gradually  disappeared  as  a  practice  of  the  churches.  There 
are  few  now  living  who  have  any  remembrance  of  such  a 
custom. 


•  They   also  did   not   vote   in  the  church.     Vide  Sermon  of  Rev.  Cyprian 
Strong  on  this  subject,  printed  at  Hartford,  by  Hudson  &  Goodwin,  1780. 


13 

To  return  to  the  history  of  Mr.  Clap.  As  he  married  in  this 
town,  and  his  wife  was  the  daughter  of  the  clergyman  who  pre- 
ceded him, — the  worthy  Mr.  Whiting, — she  was  no  unimpor- 
tant part  of  this  church,  and  should  not  be  suffered  to  escape,  as 
is  too  common  with  modest  merit,  without  appropriate  notice. 
She  was  fifteen  years  of  age  when  Mr.  Clap  and  herself  were 
united  in  marriage.  Our  fathers  and  mothers  usually  entered 
upon  the  estate  of  matrimony  at  an  earlier  age  than  their  sons 
and  daughters  are  encouraged  to  hazard  it.  We  are  wise  in 
our  day  : — who  will  venture  to  affirm  that  they  were  less  wise 
in  theirs  ? 

This  respectable  couple  lived  together  nine  years  ;  and  at  the 
age  of  twenty -four  she  was  called  to  a  better  world,  August  19th, 
1736,  as  is  attested  by  the  simple  stone  erected  to  her  memory 
in  our  grave-yard. 

From  the  description  which  is  given  of  this  woman  by  Mr. 
Clap,  and  which  may  be  found  in  the  sermon  of  Rev.  Professor 
Dagget,  delivered  on  the  occasion  of  President  Clap's  funeral, 
she  must  have  been  indeed  a  model  woman.  He  says, 

"  She  had  a  beautiful  and  pleasant  countenance  ;  was  a  woman  of  great 
prudence  and  discretion,  in  the  conduct  of  herself  and  all  her  affairs ;  was  dil- 
igent, and  always  endeavored  to  make  the  best  of  what  she  had  ;  the  heart  of 
her  husband  could  safely  trust  in  her.  She  was  kind  and  compassionate  to 
the  poor,  and  all  in  distress.  She  was  adorned  with  an  excellent  spirit  of  hu- 
mility and  meekness ;  did  not  affect  to  put  herself  forward  in  conversation,  but 
chose  to  speak  discreetly  rather  than  much  ;  but  was  always  free,  pleasant, 
and  cheerful,  in  conversation  with  every  one.  She  exceeded  in  a  most  serene, 
pleasant  temper,  and  disposition  of  mind,  which  rendered  her  very  agreeable 
to  her  husband  and  all  her  acquaintance  ;  and  though  he  lived  with  her  almost 
nine  years  in  the  connubial  state,  yet  he  never  once  saw  her  in  any  unpleasant 
temper,  neither  did  one  unpleasant  word  pass  between  them  on  any  occasion 
whatsoever." 

It  is  every  way  desirable  that  these  remarkable  excellencies 
of  character  that  adorned  Mrs.  Mary  Clap,  should  equally  adorn 
all  who  sustain  to  his  successors  the  relation  she  sustained  to 
him.  The  Christian  sisters  who  are  thus  related  to  the  elders 
presiding  over  churches  that  have  proceeded  from  this,  and  who 
in  view  of  her  vocation,  will  accord  her  the  title  of  Mother  in 
Israel,  may  also  wisely  consider  this  admirable  model.  And  I 
would  that  this  ancient,  bright  example  of  female  loveliness, 


. 


left  for  all  the  members  of  her  sex  in  this  church  and  parish,  as 
their  lawful  inheritance,  might  be  duly  esteemed  and  universally 
imitated. 

On  Mr.  Clap's  removal  to  New  Haven,  the  General  Assem- 
bly gave  the  ecclesiastical  society  here  £310,  as  compensation 
for  the  pecuniary  loss  which  they  sustained  in  the  dismission 
of  their  minister.*  It  was  against  their  earnest  desires  that  he 
left  them.  He  indeed  tore  himself  away  under  strong  impres- 
sions of  duty,  and  the  urgency  of  prominent  clergymen  and  lay- 
men of  Connecticut,  who  were  persuaded  that  his  talents  and 
learning  would  find  a  wider  field  of  usefulness  in  connection 
with  the  college. 

The  church  and  society  rendered  destitute  by  Mr.  Clap's 
removal,  soon  united  in  extending  an  invitation  to  Mr.  Stephen 
White,  to  become  their  pastor  and  spiritual  teacher.  He  was 
pleased  to  accept  the  invitation,  and  was  ordained  on  the  24th 
of  December,  1740.  Rev.  Solomon  Williams,  of  Lebanon, 
preached  the  sermon  on  the  occasion.  The  other  ministers 
who  were  on  the  council,  and  took  part  in  the  services,  were 
Rev.  Eleazer  Williams,  Rev.  Joshua  Meacham,  Rev.  Samuel 
Moseley,  and  Rev.  Ebenezer  Devotion.  Mr.  White  performed 
the  duties  of  the  ministry  in  this  place,  for  the  period  of  fifty- 
three  years, — a  longer  period  than  had  elapsed  from  the  founda- 


*  Dr.  Trumbull  says,  Vol.  II.  p.  303,  "  The  Committee  of  the  First  Society 
of  Windham,  made  application  to  the  Trustees  to  give  them  a  recompense  for 
the  removal  of  their  pastor.  Upon  this  they  mutually  agreed  to  refer  it  to  the 
judgment  of  the  gentlemen  of  the  General  Assembly,  what  compensation  they 
should  have.  Those  gentlemen  considering  that  Rev.  Mr.  Clap  had  been  in 
the  ministry  at  Windham  fourteen  years,  which  in  their  estimate  was  about 
half  the  term  of  a  minister's  life  in  general,  judged  that  the  society  ought  to 
have  half  the  price  of  his  settlement.  This  was  about  fifty-three  pounds  ster- 
ling. Upon  the  memorial  of  the  Trustees,  granted  that  sum  to  the  people  of 
Windham  as  a  compensation."  Dr.  Trumbull  has  fallen  into  a  mistake  in 
relation  to  the  sum  granted  by  the  Assembly. 

The  following  vote  is  found  on  the  Records  of  the  First  Ecclesiastical  Society 
in  this  place,  (Meeting  August  20,  1740.)  "  Also,  Voted  and  ordered  by  this 
Society,  that  Mr.  John  Abbe,  Nathan  Skiff,  and  Joseph  Bingham,  the  present 
Society's  Committee,  or  any  one  of  them,  in  the  name  and  behalf  of  said  Soci- 
ety, receive  the  three  hundred  and  ten  pounds  money  granted  to  this  Society  in 
May  last,  by  the  General  Assembly,  on  the  account  of  Rev.  Thomas  Clap's 
removal  from  us  to  the  Rectorate  of  Yale  College." 


15 

tion  of  the  church  to  the  time  of  his  settlement.  The  society 
in  giving  him  a  call,  endeavored  to  guard  against  the  danger  of 
any  such  loss  as  they  had  experienced  by  the  interference  of 
the  college,  in  the  connection  between  them  and  their  pastor. 
The  vote  presenting  him  with  the  call,  is  in  these  words : — 
"  Whereas  the  inhabitants  of  said  society  having  had  some  con- 
siderable experience  of  Mr.  Stephen  White's  ministerial  gifts,  to 
their  general  satisfaction,  do  now  agree  to  give  him  a  call  to 
the  work  of  the  ministry,  and  to  continue  among  us  in  said 
work  as  long  as  he  lives,  or  is  able  to  preach  the  Gospel." 

The  liberal  sum  of  £600  was  granted  as  a  settlement,  and 
his  annual  salary  was  £200.  In  the  period  of  his  ministry, 
however,  there  were  great  changes  in  the  worth  of  pounds, 
shillings,  and  pence.  It  was  therefore  necessary  often  to  esti- 
mate the  value  of  the  salary  promised  for  his  labors,  and  there 
is  reason  to  fear  that  he  did  not  always  receive  a  support  which 
was  as  ample  as  he  could  reasonably  expect,  or  as  had  been 
received  by  those  who  occupied  the  place  before  him.  If  this 
were  so,  the  people  alike  wronged  themselves  and  their  minis- 
ter, and  themselves  the  more  severely  of  the  two.  Should  they 
not  be  esteemed  the  Solomons  of  their  day,  who  fancy  that 
they  make  money,  or  in  any  way  profit  themselves,  by  keeping 
their  minister  on  a  short  allowance  ? 

Of  the  character  of  Mr.  White  we  have  sufficient  means  of 
forming  a  just  estimate.  He  was  less  a  public  man  than  his 
immediate  predecessor,  and  he  labored  among  this  people  in  a 
less  marked  and  peculiar  period  than  Mr.  Whiting,  their  first 
minister.  Aged  citizens  still  remember  him,  though  he  was 
considerably  advanced  in  years  in  the  season  of  their  youth. 
Mr.  Waterman  is  a  good  witness  to  testify  in  relation  to  the 
character  of  Mr.  White,  entering  directly,  as  he  did,  into  the 
office  made  vacant  by  his  decease. 

He  says,  "  Mr.  White  possessed  good  natural  abilities,  improved  by  early 
education.  In  his  station  he  was  a  workman  that  needed  not  to  be  ashamed. 
And  the  manuscript  sermons  left  behind  him  are  a  testimony  of  real  piety  and 
faithfulness.  He  was  constitutionally  modest,  and  unless  with  his  acquaintance, 
reserved  in  conversation.  In  his  domestic  relations  he  was  tender  and  indul- 
gent, and  the  same  affectionate  temper  he  manifested  towards  his  church  and 
people." 


16 

Rev.  Moses  C.  Welch,  of  Mansfield,  much  younger  in  years, 
and  in  the  ministry,  than  Mr.  White,  yet  well  able  to  form  a  just 
opinion  of  his  character,  as  he  enjoyed  an  intimacy  of  acquaint- 
ance with  him,  having  resided  two  years  in  this  place,  and  most 
of  the  time  in  the  family  of  Mr.  White,  in  the  discourse  deliv- 
ered at  his  funeral,  says, — 

"  At  what  period  of  his  life  he  chose  the  good  part,  and  became  savingly  and 
experimentally  acquainted  with  the  truth,  I  have  not  been  particularly  informed. 
The  most  that  I  know  of  his  character,  is,  from  what  appeared  in  his  life. 
Thus  much  I  am  in  duty  bound  to  say,  that  in  Mr.  WHITE  were  agreeably  and 
happily  united,  the  good  scholar,  the  real  Christian,  and  the  able,  judicious 
divine.  He  was  possessed  of  good  natural  abilities.  These  being  cultivated 
by  a  liberal  education,  and  sanctified  by  divine  grace,  furnished  him  for  public 
usefulness,  and  to  make  no  inconsiderable  figure  in  the  work  of  the  gospel 
ministry. 

He  was  a  gentleman  of  study,  and  close  application  of  mind,  ever  careful  to 
bring  beaten  oil  into  the  sanctuary  of  God.  In  his  preaching  he  treated  upon 
all  the  important  subjects ;  but  the  distinguishing  doctrines  of  grace  were  his 
principal  theme.  The  infinite  and  sovereign  love  of  the  Father,  manifested  in 
plan  and  works  of  redemption, — the  infinite  fullness  and  sufficiency  of  the 
atonement  by  the  Divine  Son, — justification  by  faith  alone.  These  distinguish- 
ing doctrines,  and  such  as  are  more  immediately  connected  with  them,  are  sub- 
jects on  which  he  appeared  to  dwell  with  uncommon  delight :  and  these  he  was 
able  to  treat  with  pertinency  and  perspicuity.  As  a  scribe  instructed  unto  the 
kingdom  of  heaven,  he  was  able  to  bring  out  of  his  treasure  things  new  and  old. 

The  interests  of  religion  in  general,  and  the  good  of  his  people  in  particular, 
appeared  ever  to  be  an  object  of  his  great  concern.  He  was  faithful  to  reprove, 
rebuke,  exhort,  with  all  long  suffering  and  doctrine. 

In  private  his  conversation  savored  of  the  best  things.  He  was  a  faithful 
friend — an  agreeable,  entertaining,  and  instructive  companion.  Yea,  I  may 
sum  up  his  character  in  short,  that  he  was  a  kind  husband, — a  tender  parent, — 
a  good  neighbor, — a  real  Christian, — and  a  faithful  minister  of  Jesus  Christ. 

I  have  been  ready  to  think  the  character  of  a  bishop  given  by  Paul  to  Titus, 
was  his  in  an  eminent  degree.  A  lover  of  hospitality — a  lover  of  good  men — 
sober — just — holy — temperate — holding  fast  the  faithful  word. 

He  served  God  and  his  generation  faithfully,  and  the  last  time  he  spoke  from 
this  desk,  might  have  addressed  the  people  of  his  charge,  as  '  Paul  the  aged' 
once  did  the  elders  of  the  church  of  Ephesus.  '  I  take  you  to  record  this  day, 
that  I  am  pure  from  the  blood  of  all  men,  for  I  have  not  shunned  to  declare 
unto  you  all  the  counsel  of  God.'  " 

There  were  interesting  seasons  of  refreshing  from  the  pres- 
ence of  the  Lord  enjoyed  during  Mr.  White's  ministry.  Par- 
ticularly one  such  season  in  the  year  1741,  in  which  year  there 
was  an  addition  to  the  church  of  fifty-seven  members.  This, 


17 

it  may  be  recollected,  was  in  the  season  of  the  "Great  Awaken- 
ing," as  it  is  sometimes  called,  when  there  was  a  very  peculiar 
attention  to  religion  in  the  churches  of  New  England  generally, 
and  in  some  other  parts  of  the  country.  In  1742,  there  were 
thirty  persons  added  to  the  church. 

But  it  is  to  be  owned  with  sorrow,  that  taking  into  one  view 
all  the  time  embraced  in  the  ministry  of  Mr.  White,  the  history 
of  the  church,  and  the  moral  condition  of  this  place,  is  calculated 
to  awaken  emotions  most  melancholy,  and  most  painful  to  the 
heart  of  the  true  friends  of  Zion.  "  How  is  the  gold  become 
dim  !  the  most  fine  gold  changed  !" 

When  Mr.  White's  predecessor  took  leave  of  Windham,  he 
left  in  the  church  two  hundred  and  eighty-seven  communicants. 
When  he  himself  was  removed  by  death,  there  were  left  in  the 
same  but  an  hundred  and  one. 

My  friends,  be  ye  careful  lest  ye  judge  unjustly,  lest  ye  im- 
pute unfaithfulness,  or  deficiency  in  zeal,  or  knowledge,  or  dis- 
cretion, without  cause.  Results  which  are  obvious  to  human 
sight,  do  not  in  all  cases  prove  the  character  of  God's  servants. 
There  is  no  evidence  that  this  minister  was  any  way  chargeable 
before  God,  because  his  success  was  so  unlike  that  which  had 
attended  the  ministry  of  the  men  who  labored  in  this  field  before 
him.  The  fault  is  to  be  sought  elsewhere.  The  representa- 
tions of  his  piety,  and  zeal,  and  benevolent  interest  in  this  peo- 
ple, which  we  have  considered,  forbid  us  to  charge  blame  upon 
him.  There  are  many  causes  of  this  deplorable  state  of  things, 
which  deserve  consideration. 

The  season  of  Mr.  White's  labors  here  included  the  period 
when  there  was  greater  general  depression  in  the  concerns  of 
religion  than  at  any  other  period,  perhaps,  since  the  settlement 
of  the  country.  The  last  half  of  the  last  century  was  the  period 
when  we  imported  much  infidelity  from  Europe ;  when  our 
learned  men,  and  professional  men,  were  sceptics,  and  infidels, 
to  an  extent  that  they  have  never  been  before,  nor  since.  We 
felt  the  effects  of  preparing  for  war,  and  engaging  in  war,  and 
the  calamitous  results  of  war,  on  the  feelings  and  habits  of  the 
people.  Very  few  if  any  of  our  churches  but  find  occasion  to 
mourn  over  this  portion  of  their  history,  as  one  of  moral  dark- 
3 


18        , 

ness.  And  in  Windham,  for  some  reasons,  this  depression  in 
religious  concerns  was  experienced  in  an  unusual  degree,  and 
the  prevailing  infidelity  prevailed  here  in  an  extraordinary 
measure.  Many  from  this  place  were  in  the  army,  some  of 
them  officers  in  the  army,  and  many  returned  when  the  war 
was  over,  to  reside,  bringing  the  opinions  and  the  habits  formed 
in  the  carnp ;  and  these  were  abundantly  propagated.  This 
people  suffers  even  now,  from  the  vicious  opinions  and  practices 
that  were  introduced  in  the  latter  quarter  of  the  last  century. 
Here  has  been  witnessed  melancholy  proof  that  the  sins  of  the 
fathers  may  be  visited  upon  the  children,  to  the  third  and  fourth 
generation. 

Hear  Mr.  White  speak  for  himself,  on  this  subject.  In  the 
sermon  he  preached  at  the  Fiftieth  Anniversary  of  his  settle- 
ment, (1790)  he  mournfully  says, 

"  When  I  came  to  this  town  there  were  some  of  the  first  settlers  living. 
They  are  now  dead,  and  almost  all  the  next  generation.  In  those  days  there 
were  scarce  any  that  were  not  professors  of  religion,  and  but  few  infants  not 
baptized.  No  FAMILIES  THAT  WERE  PRAYERLESS.  Profane  swearing  was  but 
little  knows  ;  and  open  violations  of  the  Sabbath  not  practised  as  is  common 
now.  And  there  were  no  Deists  among  us.  The  people  as  a  body  were  fearers 
of  the  Lord,  and  observers  of  the  Sabbath,  and  its  duties.  But  the  present  day 
is  peculiar  for  men's  throwing  off  the  fear  of  the  Lord.  Declensions  in  religion 
have  been  increasing  for  about  thirty  years  past,  such  as  profaneness,  disregard 
of  the  Sabbath,  neglect  of  family  religion,  unrighteousness,  and  intemperance, 
the  imbibing  of  modern  errors,  and  heresies,  and  the  crying  prevalence  of  infi- 
delity against  the  clearest  light." 

We  are  ready  to  exclaim, — Can  it  be  possible  !  Is  not  this 
series  of  statements  representing  such  a  contrast  between  the 
moral  condition  of  this  community  in  1740  and  1790  to  be 
received  with  great  allowances?  Mr.  White's  successor  thinks 
it  to  be  a  just  description,  and  from  the  manner  in  which  he 
speaks  in  his  Century  Sermon,  narrating  his  own  observations, 
we  find  indirect,  but  substantial  evidence  of  the  general  accu- 
racy of  Mr.  White's  assertions. 

Not  a  few  members  of  the  same  society  that  so  studiously 
made  arrangements  at  the  time  of  Mr.  White's  settlement  to 
prevent  the  possibility  of  his  leaving  till  the  end  of  life,  or  till  he 
should  cease  to  be  able  to  preach  the  gospel,  strenuously  endeav- 
ored to  remove  him  by  withholding  his  support,  in  the  latter 


19 


part  of  his  ministry.  He  had  friends,  however,  who  stood  by 
him  to  the  last.  The  respectable  authority  which  has  been 
frequently  referred  to  before,  in  relation  to  his  general  and 
ministerial  character,  declares  that  "  He  lived  and  died  re- 
spected and  esteemed  by  those  people  whose  approbation  was 
worth  possessing ;  while  he  had  the  hard  reflections  of  those 
whose  censure  on  such  subjects  was  praise." 

Mr.  White  received  into  communion  with  the  church  three 
hundred  and  eighteen  persons  ;  and  ten  hundred  and  forty-four 
persons  received  the  ordinance  of  baptism  by  his  hands.  Like 
his  predecessor,  he  married  in  this  place.  His  wife,  a  worthy 
woman,  universally  esteemed,  was  the  daughter  of  Capt.  Thomas 
Dyer,  and  sister  of  Col.  Eliphalet  Dyer.  He  had  by  her  thirteen 
children.  He  serenely  went  to  his  rest,  January  9,  1793.* 

Rev.  Elijah  Waterman  was  the  next  pastor  of  this  church 
and  people.  A  call  was  extended  to  him,  bearing  date  June 
23d,  1794,  and  offering  him  an  annual  salary  of  £145.  He  was 
ordained  the  first  day  of  October  following.  The  ordination 
sermon  was  delivered  by  Rev.  James  Dana,  D.  D.,  of  New 
Haven.  Many  persons  in  this  place  well  remember  when  Mr. 
Waterman  was  ordained,  but  there  are  no  persons  living  in  the 
church,  who  were  members  at  that  time.  Mrs.  Lydia  Snow, 
and  Deacon  Samuel  Perkins  are  believed  to  be  the  persons  latest 
deceased  whose  membership  in  the  church  extends  to  so  early 
a  date.  There  are  three  female  members  living  who  were 
received  into  communion  by  Mr.  Waterman; — Miss  Lydia 
Wills,  Mrs.  Rachel  Cross,  and  Mrs.  Marial  Huntington.  Mr. 
Waterman  officiated  as  pastor  here  till  the  12th  of  February, 
1805,  a  period  a  little  short  of  eleven  years.  The  judgment  I 
form  of  his  character  is  derived  from  the  representations  of 


*  He  was  born  at  Middle  town,  in  1718.  "When  he  was  two  years  old  his 
parents  removed  to  New  Haven.  He  graduated  at  Yale  College,  in  1736. 
His  wife  deceased  May  27,  1802,  aged  eighty-three.  The  last  two  of  the  family 
that  died  in  Windham,  were  maiden  daughters.  Sarah  White  died  December 
28,  1836,  aged  seventy-eight ;  Susanna  died  April  5,  1837,  aged  ninety-five. 
Two  colored  servants  belonging  to  the  family,  survived  Susanna  White  ;  one, 
Gate,  is  since  dead,  and  one,  Creusa,  still  lives,  inhabiting  the  family  mansion, 
and  having  a  life-interest  in  her  former  master's  property. 

1 


20 

those  who  enjoyed  his  personal  acquaintance,  and  sat  under  his 
ministry;  and  from  the  productions  of  his  pen  which  he  has  left 
behind  him. 

He  was  a  man  of  more  than  ordinary  mental  acumen,  and 
probably  was  in  little  danger  of  suffering  any  imposition  by 
sophistical  reasoning,  from  whatsoever  quarter,  or  in  whatsoever 
manner  it  might  come.  He  evidently  formed  his  opinions  for 
himself,  and  he  certainly  did  not  fear  to  maintain  them. 

He  was  a  sound  preacher.  He  preached  sound  doctrine, 
and  he  defended  it  by  sound  arguments.  He  was  a  man  of  a 
good  share  of  learning.  Particularly  was  he  a  historian  and  a 
treasurer  of  facts.  This  church  is  greatly  indebted  to  him  for 
the  indefatigable  exertions  he  put  forth  to  collect  and  save  the 
interesting  facts  respecting  its  early  history.  Were  it  not  for 
the  labors  which  he  commenced  in  the  way  of  preparation  for 
the  anniversary  of  the  church,  observed  fifty  years  ago,  and 
which  he  continued  as  long  as  he  could  find  encouragement  by 
success,  (the  results  of  which  are  embodied,  some  in  his  anni- 
versary discourse,  some  in  a  preface  to  Mr.  Whiting's  thanks- 
giving sermon,  and  some  in  the  records  of  the  church,)  to  make 
out  a  tolerable  history  of  our  early  days,  would  now  be  an  utter 
impossibility. 

The  records  that  could  be  found  in  the  hand- writing  of  Mr. 
Whiting,  Mr.  Clap,  and  Mr.  White,  which  were  much  worn 
and  defaced,  he  carefully  transcribed  into  a  volume.  And  this 
leads  me  to  observe  of  him,  that  he  was  a  man  of  peculiar  pa- 
tience and  diligence,  and  of  unusual  benevolence;  for  all  these 
qualities  must  have  combined  in  the  individual,  who,  aside  from 
his  ordinary  pursuits,  allowing  very  little  leisure,  was  willing  to 
spend  weeks  and  months  solely  for  the  benefit  of  others.  His 
manner  in  the  pulpit  was  to  a  considerable  degree  of  the  popu- 
lar cast.  He  was  bold,  active,  and  energetic.  He  never  sacri- 
ficed the  grand  impression  aimed  at  by  any  attempts  at  the  dis- 
play of  oratory.  Probably  in  leading  traits  of  character  he 
more  nearly  resembled  President  Clap  than  any  other  of  the 
ministers  who  have  been  settled  in  this  place.  There  was  an 
interesting  revival  in  connection  with  his  labors  in  the  year 
1796,  as  the  fruits  of  which  twenty-five  persons  were  received 


*&  21 

into  the  church.  There  was  also  an  unusual  attention  to  reli- 
gion among  his  people  in  1798.  In  the  early  part  of  the  year 
following,  twenty-two  persons  united  with  the  church. 

Before  he  left  Windham  he  found  himself  in  the  midst  of 
enemies.  His  doctrine  gave  offence  to  some.  And  the  offence 
the  doctrine  in  itself  occasioned,  was  aggravated  by  the  fear- 
lessness and  the  ability  with  which  he  maintained  it.  Then 
again  his  practical  discourses  were  received  with  as  much  dis- 
like by  a  certain  part  of  his  congregation,  as  his  doctrinal.  He 
preached  on  the  duties  of  individuals  in  all  the  relations  of  life ; 
on  the  duties  of  magistrates,  as  well  as  those  in  a  more  humble 
condition.  In  other  words,  he  did  what  an  independent  and 
conscientious  minister  might  reasonably  be  expected  to  do  in 
the  way  of  preaching,  that  is,  to  reprove  men  for  the  very  sins 
of  which  they  are  guilty,  and  admonish  and  exhort  them  to  for- 
sake them.  To  all  this,  he  also  added  an  offence  of  conduct, 
which  with  some  persons  created  greater  dissatisfaction  than 
any  which  arose  from  his  pulpit  performances.  He  made  com- 
plaint to  the  magistrate  against  a  company  of  individuals,  for 
the  violation  of  the  law  then  existing  in  Connecticut,  prohibiting 
"  all  servile  labor  and  vain  recreation"  on  fast-days  and  thanks- 
givings. Those  who  for  their  pleasure  went  rabbit-hunting  on 
fast-day,  with  all  safety  but  for  Mr.  Waterman,  were  not  satis- 
fied with  the  further  pleasure  of  paying  the  fines  by  law  pre- 
scribed, through  his  instrumentality.  Quite  a  portion  of  the 
society  conspired  to  remove  him  after  the  manner  which  had 
been  attempted  in  relation  to  his  predecessor.  They  "  lodged 
certificates."  As  his  support  became  precarious,  it  was  thought 
advisable  by  himself  and  his  numerous  and  ardent  friends  here, 
that  he  should  leave  for  some  other  field  of  labor.  The  church, 
and  many  of  the  best  of  the  people  were  exceedingly  reluctant 
to  part  with  Mr.  Waterman. 

A  council  was  convened,  which,  after  some  deliberation,  ad- 
journed for  a  season,  hoping  from  representations  made  to  them, 
that  a  support  might  yet  be  provided.  The  plan  was  proposed 
of  selling  the  pews  in  the  meeting-house,  to  be  held  as  real  prop- 
erty, for  raising  a  fund  the  interest  of  which  should  pay  the  sal- 
ary. This  did  not  succeed ;  and  when  the  council  re-assembled, 


according  to  adjournment,  the  pastoral  relation  between  him 
and  this  people  was  dissolved. 

Among  the  votes  passed  in  the  church  during  these  trouble- 
some times,  the  following  is  recorded,  testifying  the  estimation 
in  which  he  was  held  by  the  members.  "  Voted,  that  there  has 
from  the  first  connection  of  this  church  with  its  pastor,  been  an 
unusual  degree  of  unanimity  and  brotherly  love,  and  that  this 
still  remains  to  be  the  case." 

In  his  farewell  sermon  he  propounds  to  the  people  nine  ques- 
tions. The  third  and  fourth  of  them  are  as  follows  : 

"  Has  not  your  pastor  labored  so  to  divide  the  word  of  truth  as  to  comfort 
the  broken-hearted — to  awaken  the  careless  sinner — and  to  call  up  the  atten- 
tion of  the  infidel  and  scoffer,  by  motives  the  strongest  that  religion  could 
furnish  ?" 

"  Has  your  pastor  been  a  mere  time-server  in  his  preaching,  accommodating 
[himself]  to  the  opinions  of  leading  and  influential  persons  ?  Has  he  said 
more,  or  has  he  said  less  to  gain  the  favor  of  any  one  ?  Has  he  prophesied 
smooth  things,  and  cried  like  the  false  prophet,  peace  to  the  wicked  ?" 

If  it  should  be  thought  that  there  is  a  considerable  share  of 
human  nature  in  these  inquiries,  it  is  hoped  that  it  will  be  char- 
itably remembered  that  he  was  a  man,  as  well  as  a  minister. 
Soon  after  leaving  this  place  he  was  settled  over  a  parish  in 
Bridgeport.  He,  also,  like  his  two  immediate  predecessors, 
married  among  his  own  people.  His  wife  was  Miss  Lucy 
Abbe,  daughter  of  Shubael  Abbe,  Esq.,  who  was  worthy  the 
general  estimation  she  enjoyed.* 

After  Mr.  Waterman's  dismission,  for  about  a  year  and  a  half, 
various  persons  were  employed  to  supply  the  pulpit.  August 
12,  1806,  a  call  was  extended  to  Mr.  Daniel  C.  Banks.  The 
society  inserted  in  the  call  this  condition : 

Viz.  "  That  a  majority  of  said  society  shall  have  the  power,  upon  giving  one 
year's  notice  to  said  Mr.  Banks,  to  discharge  him  from  the  ministry  in  said 

*  Mr.  Waterman  was  graduated  at  Yale  College,  1791 ;  ordained  at  Windham 
1794;  installed  at  Bridgeport  1806  ;  and  died  October  11,  1825,  aged  56.  He 
was  the  father  of  Rev.  Thomas  Waterman,  of  Providence.  He  published  a 
Life  of  Calvin, — Catechism  of  Geneva, — A  Century  Sermon, — A  Sermon  at  the 
Execution  of  Caleb  Adams, — and  a  Sermon  founded  on  2d  Kings  v.  18 — The 
Noble  Convert,  preached  at  the  request,  and  published  by  the  consent  of  Hon. 
Pierpont  Edwards. 


23 

'•  *&>   • 

society  ;  and  that  said  salary  shall  cease  within  one  year  after  such  notice  shall 
be  given  ;  and  that  the  said  Mr.  Banks  shall  have  power  to  leave  said  society 
within  one  year  after  he  shall  have  given  notice  of  his  intent  to  do  the  same." 

Mr.  Banks  declined  the  call. 

After  an  interval  again  of  something  more  than  a  year,  a  sim- 
ilar call  was  extended  to  Mr.  Charles  Atwater.  The  call  was 
declined  by  him.  At  length  the  church  and  society  were  suc- 
cessful in  an  unanimous  application  to  Mr.  William  Andrews, 
to  become  their  minister ;  and  he  was  ordained  on  the  8th  of 
August,  1808.  Dr.  Welch,  of  Mansfield,  preached  the  ordina- 
tion sermon,  in  which  he  suggested  that  trials  might  await  the 
inexperienced  minister.  Says  he,* 

"  The  work  of  the  ministry  is  weighty,  solemn,  and  laborious.  You  are 
entering  on  the  work  in  a  tempestuous  day — a  day  in  which  you  will  be  ex- 
posed to  peculiar  trials.  Religion  is  opposed  by  many,  and  the  ministers  of 
the  sanctuary  are  despised,  villified,  and  reproached.  This  will  expose  you  to 
pressing  difficulties,  and  you  will  probably  meet  with  great  discouragements." 

Dr.  Welch,  in  this  discourse,  also  thus  addresses  the  people : 

"  You,  my  brethren  and  friends  of  this  church  and  society,  are  about  to  re- 
ceive a  rich  blessing — a  fresh  token  of  the  favor  of  our  Lord.  This  church  has 
gone  through  a  variety  of  changes,  and  the  transactions  for  which  we  are  met 
in  the  house  of  God,  will  naturally  excite  in  some  of  your  breasts,  the  most 
tender  feelings.  This  was  the  first  organized  church  in  the  county  ;  and  here 
the  ordinances  of  the  gospel  were  early  established.  One  hundred  and  eight 
years  will  be  completed,  next  December,  since  the  first  pastor  of  this  church 
was  ordained.  The  three  first  ministers,  all  of  whom  were  lights  in  the  church, 
and  great  blessings  to  the  world,  served  here  between  ninety  and  an  hundred 
years.  The  labors  of  the  third  were  continued  more  than  half  a  century.  His 
ministry  and  death  are  affectionately  remembered  by  the  speaker,  and  many  of 
the  society.  Soon  after  his  decease,  the  Lord  sent  you  another,  who  was  cor- 
dially received,  and  settled  with  great  unanimity  and  flattering  prospects.  But 
a  clear  sky  is,  many  times,  suddenly  beclouded." 

I  find  my  task  more  and  more  delicate,  in  undertaking  to 
write  a  true  history  of  our  affairs,  as  I  approach  nearer  to  the 
present  period,  and  must  therefore  relate  things  in  which  many 
persons  now  living,  were  more  or  less  concerned.  But  yet, 
may  I  not  ask  myself,  who  wishes  that  any  thing  should  be  told, 

*  This  sermon  was  printed  by  Mr.  John  Byrne,  of  this  place.  The  sermons 
preached  by  Dr.  Dana,  at  Mr.  Waterman's  ordination,  and  by  Dr.  Welch,  at 
Mr.  White's  funeral,  were  also  printed  by  Mr.  Byrne. 


24 

but  what  accords  with  the  truth  ?  History  is  no  longer  history, 
but  fiction,  when  it  conveys  unjust  or  erroneous  impressions. 
The  law  of  the  impartial  historian  must  be  mine. 

All  persons  who  were  accustomed  to  attend  on  the  ministra- 
tions of  Mr.  Andrews,  concede  that  he  was  a  man  of  learning 
and  power.  He  ever  gave  the  impression  to  those  with  whom 
he  was  no  particular  favorite,  that  he  was  an  earnest  and  tho- 
rough man  in  the  discharge  of  his  official  duties.  He  was  a 
person  of  peculiar  seriousness.  He  deeply  felt  his  responsibil- 
ity, and  designed  to  commend  himself  to  God,  and  the  con- 
sciences of  all  his  people.  He  might  have  been  less  social  in 
his  nature,  and  less  familiar  in  the  ordinary  intercourse  of  life, 
than  Mr.  Waterman,  but  in  the  pulpit  he  was  not  a  whit  infe- 
rior to  his  predecessor.  The  ministers  of  his  acquaintance  all 
unite  in  according  him  a  high  degree  of  merit.  Chief  Justice 
Reeve,  as  good  a  judge  of  a  minister  as  of  law,  is  said  to  have 
spoken  often  of  the  interest  with  which  he  heard  Mr.  Andrews. 

After  laboring  for  a  few  years  in  this  place,  Mr.  Andrews  was 
discouraged,  and  desired  to  remove  to  some  other  field.  He 
was  troubled  and  distressed  at  the  stupidity  in  religious  things, 
and  the  iniquity  so  prevalent  among  the  people.  The  Sabbath- 
breaking  pained  his  soul.  He  preached  against  it — preached 
on  the  duty  of  magistrates  in  relation  to  it.  It  could  not  appear 
to  him  a  work  of  necessity  to  make  hay  on  the  Sabbath,  be- 
cause it  happened  to  be  good  hay-weather.  He  therefore  re- 
quested the  people  to  release  him.  It  was,  however,  found  to 
be  a  more  difficult  work  for  him  to  obtain  a  dismission  than  it 
had  been  for  his  predecessor.  They  had  paid  him  promptly — 
they  had  fulfilled  all  their  engagements.  They  never  engaged 
to  attend  meeting  with  punctuality — to  keep  the  Sabbath  with 
strictness — to  reform  from  their  evil  practices  in  general.  And 
indeed,  with  regard  to  these  things,  some  of  them  appear  to  have 
assumed  that  he  had  no  claim  upon  them.  In  a  pamphlet  pub- 
lished soon  after  a  separation  was  effected  between  Mr.  An- 
drews and  his  people,  prepared  by  a  prominent  citizen,  and 
member  of  the  society,  the  writer  remarks,  "  The  people  did  not 
apprehend  they  should  incur  any  censure  or  reproach,  if  they 
continued  the  same  steady  course  in  the  performance  of  the 


25 

duties  of  religion,  which  they  had  long  pursued ;  and  very  hon- 
estly thought  that  they  had  no  occasion  for  any  new  light."  In 
the  summer  of  1812,  Mr.  Andrews  preached  a  sermon  from  the 
text,  "  /  am  afraid  of  you,  lest  1  have  bestowed  on  you  labor  in 
vain"  (Gal.  iv.  11.)  It  was  at  a  time  when  some  of  the  people 
had  been  laboring  considerably  on  the  Sabbath,  getting  in  their 
crops  of  grass  and  grain.  And  there  is  indubitable  evidence 
that  the  sermon,  whatever  other  qualifications  might  belong  to 
it,  possessed,  in  rare  measure,  those  that  rendered  it  impressive. 
"  Among  other  things"  says  the  writer  before  quoted.  "  he  took 
a  view  of  the  conduct  of  different  classes  of  people  in  the  soci- 
ety during  his  ministry  ;  the  young  and  the  old,  the  members 
of  the  church,  and  the  civil  authority,  and  declared  that  all  had 
grown  worse."  This  sermon  was  concluded  by  a  notice  that 
at  the  end  of  the  year  he  should  ask  to  have  his  pastoral  relation 
dissolved. 

It  is  not  entirely  certain  that  all  the  persons  who  opposed 
Mr.  Andrews  in  his  request  for  a  dismission,  pursued  this  course 
out  of  any  peculiar  attachment  to  him,  or  peculiar  desire  to 
enjoy  his  ministry  in  preference  to  that  of  any  other  man ;  or 
that  all  who  were  unwilling  to  part  with  him  in  the  circum- 
stances then  existing,  were  influenced  solely  by  the  benevolent 
intention  of  promoting  the  highest  moral  and  religious  welfare 
of  the  people  here.  But  there  is,  to  say  the  least,  a  good  deal 
of  sagacity  in  the  argument  which  is  urged  by  the  writer  of  the 
pamphlet  referred  to,  against  the  reasons  Mr.  Andrews  had 
given  for  leaving.  Says  he,  "  It  never  was  heard,  or  suggested 
in  the  Christian  world,  that  ministers  are  to  leave  their  people 
because  they  are  wicked.  This  is  indeed  the  strongest  reason 
why  they  should  continue  their  labors  among  them ;  here  they 
are  most  necessary,  and  will  most  probably  be  useful ;  for  they 
who  are  whole  need  not  a  physician,  but  they  who  are  sick." 

After  a  council  had  been  summoned  to  the  place  a  second 
time,  his  dismission  was  accomplished.  This  occurred  on  the 
20th  of  April,  1813.  Twenty-one  persons  were  received  into 
communion  with  the  church  during  the  period  of  his  ministra- 
tion. He  was  subsequently  settled  in  Danbury,  and  more  re- 
cently in  Cornwall.  From  the  latter  place  he  was  called  to  his 
4 


26 

heavenly  reward,  leaving  a  widow,  who  is  believed  to  be  now 
living,  and  several  children,  among  whom  are  four  sons  in  the 
ministry. 

As  soon  as  the  disturbance  in  the  elements,  occasioned  by 
the  unsettling  of  Mr.  Andrews,  had  subsided,  the  society 
repeated  a  call  they  had  formerly  given  to  Rev.  Daniel  C. 
Banks. 

In  the  vote  inviting  him  to  come  among  them,  they  inserted 
this  extraordinary  condition  :  That  if  either  party,  minister  or 
people  wishes  to  dissolve  the  relation,  the  case  shall  be  referred 
to  three  judges  of  the  Superior  Court,  or  to  other  referees,  such 
as  shall  be  mutually  agreed  upon.  Mr.  Banks  again,  for  some 
cause  unknown,  declined  the  call. 

Mr.  Cornelius  B.  Everest  was  the  next  minister  invited  to 
take  the  spiritual  oversight  of  this  church  and  people.  He 
was  pleased  to  comply  with  the  invitation ;  and  after  preach- 
ing for  a  little  season,  his  ordination  took  place  on  the  22nd 
of  November,  1815. 

His  services  had,  even  before  this  event,  been  blessed  by  the 
effusions  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  Many  now  living  in  the  church, 
have  occasion  to  remember  his  early  labors  with  deep  interest 
and  devout  gratitude  to  GOD.  Within  the  first  two  years  of 
his  ministry  thirty-two  individnals  made  profession  of  religion. 
Mr.  Everest  was  a  wise  and  good  preacher.  He  was  accus- 
tomed to  take  just  views  of  scripture  truth,  and  rightly  to 
divide  the  truth  to  the  various  classes  of  his  hearers.  He 
knew  how  to  instruct  and  comfort  the  saints ;  and  how  to 
impress  the  consciences  of  sinners.  He  was  particularly 
attentive  to  the  duty  of  discipline,  as  relates  to  the  church  ;  and 
during  his  stay  with  this  people  many  were  removed  from  the 
church  on  account  of  disorderly  conduct,  for  which  they  man- 
ifested  no  repentance.  He  was  a  man  of  affability,  kindness, 
and  discretion.  He  made  few,  if  any,  enemies  among  the 
people.  All  felt  kindly  towards  him.  All  would  say,  probably, 
that  they  wished  him  well.  The  wishes  of  too  many,  how- 
ever, were  not  emphatic  enough  to  induce  them  to  do  what 
justice  required  for  his  support.  And  he  left  for  the  ostensible 
reason,  while  there  was  no  difficulty  in  his  congregation,  and 


27 

it  embraced  a  much  larger  amount  of  wealth  than  it  now  does, 
that  he  could  not  depend  on  a  competent  support.  It  is  not 
designed  to  cast  reflections  indiscriminately.  There  is  no 
doubt  that  there  have  been  here,  in  all  times,  those  who  have 
been  just  and  generous,  in  their  intentions  and  acts,  as  regards 
their  minister.  But  at  the  period  now  referred  to,  it  is  too  evi- 
dent that  there  were  many  who  were  so  indifferent  to  the 
welfare  of  the  society,  and  the  interests  of  morals  and  religion 
in  the  place,  or  so  avaricious,  that  they  would  furnish  but  a 
small  proportion  of  their  share  towards  a  respectable  main- 
tenance for  the  minister. 

Mr.  Everest  was  dismissed  by  council,  Nov.  14th,  1827, 
having  been  pastor  here  about  twelve  years  ;  and  having  re- 
ceived into  the  church  sixty-seven  individuals.  He  has  since 
been  settled  over  the  First  Church  in  Norwich ;  and  over  the 
church  in  Bloomfield.  He  is  now  preaching,  as  stated  supply, 
to  a  congregation  in  Rainbow. 

While  Mr.  Everest  was  here,  a  sort  of  hurricane  occurred 
in  the  moral  atmosphere,  totally  strange  in  this  generally  quiet 
community.  There  seemed  to  be,  by  one  consent,  a  congre- 
gating into  this  neighborhood  of  large  numbers  of  a  new  class 
of  preachers,  who  considered  themselves  ordained  of  Heaven 
to  introduce  into  these  parts  at  least,  a  new  dispensation. 
They  preached  in  private  houses,  and  on  the  public  square,  and 
in  the  sanctuary  when  they  could  obtain  an  entrance.  They 
preached  doubtless  some  truth  ;  but  they  preached  much  error. 
They  assailed  most  of  the  leading  doctrines  of  the  gospel  sys- 
tem. Mr.  Everest  combated  the  doctrinal  errors  of  these 
preachers  with  good  success.  He  delivered  and  printed  a 
sermon,  which  was  a  very  effective  one,  from  the  text,  "  I  am 
set  for  the  defence  of  the  gospel."  (Phil.  i.  17.)  The  errors 
of  the  nature  he  combated  were  pretty  much  overthrown. 
There  was  another  error  of  this  class  of  preachers  that  he  did 
not  successfully  meet.  They  preached  that  ministers  ought  to 
preach  for  nothing — that  those  who  have  pay  are  hirelings — 
and  that  it  is  better  to  go  and  hear  ignorant  persons  preach  in 
fields  and  barns,  who  have  no  recompense,  than  to  hear  the 
learned  black-coats,  who  receive  a  support  for  devoting  their 


29 

ft 

time  and  talents  to  the  useful  calling  of  the  ministry.  This 
error  Mr.  Everest  did  not  meet.  And  the  seed  sown  then  has 
ripened  into  a  harvest  of  briars  and  thorns.  Children  and 
youth  received  a  prejudice,  against  a  respectable  and  intelli- 
gent ministry,  and  an  orderly  sanctuary  ;  which  is  now  one  of 
the  prominent  reasons  why  many  families  in  the  limits  of  this 
parish,  are  scarcely  at  all  represented  in  any  house  of  worship 
on  the  Lord's  Day. 

It  was,  I  think,  during  the  ministry  of  Mr.  Everest,  that  the 
society  concluded  that  they  would  no  longer  "  seat  the  meet- 
ing-house." It  had  been  the  custom  to  appoint  a  committee, 
once  in  two  or  three  years,  to  designate  the  seats  where  fami- 
lies and  individuals  should  sit.  The  aged  were  accommodated 
near  the  pulpit  for  better  hearing  the  minister,  and  others  were 
provided  for,  as  to  eligibility  of  seats,  somewhat  according  to 
the  amount  of  their  tax,  and  general  standing  in  the  community. 
The  young  folks  occupied  the  gallery  ;  the  male  sex  on  one 
side,  and  the  females  on  the  other  side  of  the  singers — the 
young  folks  all,  but  more  especially  the  males,  being  under  the 
particular  watch  and  care  of  the  tithing-men.  It  was  very 
difficult  to  please  all  in  this  way  of  seating.  A  story  is  told, 
illustrating  this,  of  one  Mr.  Jonathan  Hebard.  He  was  placed 
in  a  wall-pew,  just  by  the  north  door  :  and  he  made  complaint, 
that  they  not  only  put  him  into  the  coldest  spot  in  the  house, 
but  that  they  put  in  snow  with  him  ;  a  respectable  citizen  by 
the  name  of  Snow  having  been  assigned  as  his  pew-mate.* 

After  an  interval  of  about  two  years,  in  which  the  pulpit 
was  supplied  by  different  persons,  Mr.  Richard  F.  Cleveland,  a 
native  of  Norwich,  received  and  accepted  an  invitation  to 
settle  among  this  people.  He  was  ordained,  Oct.  15th,  1829. 
His  ordination  sermon  was  delivered  by  Rev.  Dr.  Sprague  of 
Albany.  He  assumed  the  pastoral  relation  on  the  condition 
that  he  might  be  discharged,  if  it  should  be  his  pleasure,  at  the 
end  of  three  years.  When  the  three  years  were  expired  he 
preferred  to  go,  though  the  society  and  church  were  exceed- 
ingly desirous  to  have  him  remain,  and  employed  very  earnest 

•  The  seating  of  the  meeting-house,  it  is  since  found,  was  relinquished  at  an 
earlier  day. 


29 

.  % 

efforts  to  induce  him  to  change  his  mind.  His  relation  to  this 
people  was  dissolved  by  council,  according  to  contract,  Oct. 
1st,  1832. 

Mr.  Cleveland  was  a  good  man,  an  ardent  and  laborious 
man,  a  holy  man.  He  loved  the  cause  of  Christ,  and  he  loved 
this  people,  and  labored  earnestly  for  their  spiritual  welfare. 
He  was  a  man  well  calculated  to  attach  a  church  strongly  to 
himself;  and  he  did  not  fail  to  accomplish  this  desirable  object 
in  this  place.  Thirty-one  persons  were  added  to  the  church 
during  his  ministry. 

He  went  hence  to  Portsmouth,  Va.  After  continuing  about 
a  year  in  Portsmouth,  he  went  to  Caldwell,  N.  J.  And  from 
Caldwell  he  went  to  Fayetteville,  N.  Y.  He  was  but  recently 
dismissed  from  the  latter  place,  to  engage  in  an  agency  for  the 
American  Home  Missionary  Society,  in  Central  New  York. 

April  6th,  1833.  Rev.  Erasmus  D.  Moore  received  a  call 
for  settlement  from  this  society  and  church.  For  some  reason 
he  made  choice  of  another  field  of  labor.  From  this  time, 
different  individuals  occupied  the  pulpit  for  longer  or  shorter 
periods,  till  the  fall  of  1837,  no  person  receiving  a  call  to  enter 
on  the  pastoral  relation. 

The  present  pastor  was  ordained  Oct.  11,  1837.  The  ser- 
mon was  preached  by  his  honored  father,  Rev.  Bennet  Tyler, 
D.  D.,  of  East  Windsor  Hill.  The  charge  was  delivered  by 
Rev.  Dr.  Nott  of  Franklin,  the  venerable  Patriarch  of  the 
clergy  of  New  England.  At  that  time  it  appeared  to  the 
present  pastor  exceedingly  improbable  that  he  should  continue 
so  long  in  this  connexion.  Providence  directed  his  steps  here. 
Providence  has  hitherto  sustained  him  here.  And  the  future 
is  also  left  to  the  decisions  of  Providence.  Of  his  character, 
and  his  ministry  generally,  he  leaves  it  for  him  to  speak,  who 
shall  occupy  this  post  fifty  years  hence,  when  this  church  shall 
celebrate  the  two  hundredth  Anniversary  of  its  organization. 

He  would  say  that  he  sees  very  much  reason  for  humiliation 
and  penitence  in  the  review  of  his  ministry  thus  far,  while  he 
sees  much  occasion  for  gratitude  to  God.  We  have  not  been 
destitute  of  visits  from  the  holy  Spirit  during  this  period,  re- 
freshing the  hearts  of  God's  people,  and  bringing  sinners  to 


30 

Christ.  It  was  in  a  season  of  depression  in  the  church,  as  re- 
gards the  state  of  religion  ;  and  when  its  numbers  were  much 
reduced,  from  a  variety  of  causes,  particularly  from  emigration, 
that  the  present  pastor  entered  on  this  field.  There  were  at 
that  time  seventy-four  members  of  the  church  living.  Since 
then,  seventy-nine  have  been  added.  Yet,  owing  to  the  work 
of  death,  and  the  continued  loss  by  emigration,  which  exceeds 
the  loss  by  death,  the  net  increase  is  but  thirty-six,  making  our 
number  of  living  members  this  day  one  hundred  and  ten.  It 
gives  us  great  pleasure  to  know,  that  many  who  are  ornaments 
to  religion  in  other  places,  entered  into  covenant  with  the  Lord 
and  his  people  among  us. 

This  church  has  ever  been  greatly  blessed  in  devout  and  useful 
female  members.  Miss  Anna  Follet  is  frequently  spoken  of  by 
persons  now  living  here,  and  occasionally  by  aged  persons  in  the 
adjoining  churches,  as  having  been  peculiarly  eminent  for  piety 
and  gifts  qualifying  her  for  usefulness.  She  taught  many  chil- 
dren the  elements  of  common  learning,  and  many  adults  the 
great  things  that  concern  the  welfare  of  the  soul.  The  small 
house  near  the  former  church,  in  which  for  twenty  years  or 
more  she  lived  with  her  sister,  was  a  place  where  Christians 
often  gathered  to  pray,  and  anxious  sinners  often  resorted  to 
inquire  what  they  should  do  to  be  saved.  She  was  born  1759, 
and  died  1833.  The  Misses  White,  (who  have  been  spoken  of 
in  a  preceding  note,)  daughters  of  Rev.  Mr.  White,  were 
devout  women,  and  ever  deeply  interested  in  the  cause  of 
Christ.  Their  house  was  for  many  years  much  occupied  as  a 
place  for  social  religious  meetings. 

All  who  have  been  settled  ministers  in  this  place  have  come 
here  in  their  youth.  No  one  of  them  had  been  ordained  before 
coming  here. 

The  following  persons  have  filled  the  office  of  Deacon  in 
this  church.  The  figures  denote  the  date  of  their  election  to 
the  office. 


31 

1700,  Joseph  Carey.  1765,  Jonathan  Martin. 

1700,  Thomas  Bingham.  1765,  Elijah  Bingham. 

1700,  Nathaniel  Wales.  1777,  Samuel  Gray. 

1729,  Abel  Bingham.  1787,  Eleazer  Fitch. 

1729,  Joseph  Huntington.  1787,  Hezekiah  Bissel. 

1729,  Ralph  Wheelock.*  1790.  Thomas  Tileston. 

1729,  Eleazer  Carey.  1796,  Samuel  Perkins. 

1741,  Nathaniel  Wales.  1802,  Eliphalet  Murdock. 

1748,  Ebenezer  Wales.  1815,  Charles  Lee. 

1754,  Joseph  Huntington.  1824,  Thomas  Welch. 

1754,  Nathaniel  Skiff.  1840,  Abner  Follet. 

All  have  deceased  excepting  the  three  last  named,  and  of 
these  the  first  has  removed  from  this  place,  and  is  now  con- 
nected with  the  Second  Church  in  Norwich. 

The  following  churches  were  organized  as  colonies  from 
this.  The  church  at  Mansfield  Centre,  or  South  Mansfield, 
then  called  Naubesetuck. 

The  date  of  its  organization,  is  Oct.  18,  1710.  Rev.  Elea- 
zer Williams,  son  of  Rev.  John  Williams  of'Deerfield,  Mass., 
of  eventful  history,  was  its  first  pastor.  Before  this  time,  Mr. 
Whiting  was  required  to  preach  occasionally  at  Naubesetuck. 
The  church  in  Hampton  was  organized  from  this,  June  5th, 
1723;  and  Rev.  William  Billings  was  ordained  pastor.  The 
place  was  then  called  Kennedy,  or  Windham  Village. 

The  church  in  Scotland  society  was  organized  from  this, 
Oct.  22nd,  1735.  The  first  pastor  was  Rev.  Ebenezer  Devo- 
tion. A  society  had  been  formed  there  in  1732. 

There  was  also  a  church  organized  in  what  was  then  the 
north  part  of  the  society,  but  is  now  included  in  the  society 
and  town  of  Chaplin,  in  1780.  Rev.  John  Storrs  was  the 
pastor.  After  continuing  about  sixteen  years,  it  was  thought, 
on  the  whole,  the  dictate  of  wisdom  to  give  up  the  support  of 
religious  worship  in  that  locality  ;  and  thirteen  members  were 
received  back  to  this  church.  Other  members  probably  united 
themselves  with  churches  in  other  places. 


*  Father  of  Rev.  Eleazar  Wheelock,  D.  D.,  founder  and  first  president  of 
Dartmouth  College,  who  was  born  in  Windham,  April,  1711. 


The  church  in  Willimantic,  now  a  very  important  part  of 
the  town  of  Windham,  the  early  members  of  which  were  in 
considerable  numbers  from  this  church,  was  organized  at  the 
house  of  Mr.  A.  C.  Tingley,  Jan.  22d.  1828. 

In  1750,  there  was  an  attempt  made  to  form  a  "  Separate 
Church"  in  this  society,  by  persons  who  had  been  members  of 
this  church,  and  a  minister  was  proposed  for  ordination. 
Those  who  started  the  enterprize  called  themselves  "  Brethren 
and  Sisters."  On  account  of  disagreement  among  themselves, 
the  enterprize  was  abandoned. 

The  Episcopal  church  was  established  in  this  village  in  the 
year  1832.* 

The  Baptist  church  was  instituted  in  the  year  1846. 

The  first  house  of  worship  built  in  Windham  was  erected  in 
1697. 

The  second,  a  larger  one  than  the  first  in  1716. 

These  houses,  it  is  supposed,  were  on  the  "  parade,"  or  public 
square,  about  in  the  range  between  the  present  house  of  wor- 
ship and  the  bank. 

The  third  house  of  worship  was  commenced  in  1751,  and 
completed  in  1755.  It  was  occupied  till  the  20th  of  March, 
1848,  when  it  was  pulled  down  to  employ  the  timbers,  to  some 
extent,  in  constructing  the  one  in  which  we  are  now  assembled. 
The  sermon  preached  by  the  pastor,  on  the  occasion  of  bidding 
farewell  to  that  venerable  sanctuary,  the  day  preceding,  from 
the  84th  Psalm,  1st  verse,  "How  amiable  are  thy  tabernacles,  O 
Lord  of  hosts  !"  is  deposited  under  the  corner  stone  of  this 
edifice. f 


*  An  Episcopal  society  was  started  in  1804.  After  maintaining  worship 
about  a  year,  they  voted  to  join  the  First  Society  in  the  support  of  the  Gospel 
Ministry.  The  present  Episcopal  house  of  worship  was  erected  in  1833.  The 
Baptist  house  of  worship,  in  1846. 

t  It  may  be  found  in  due  time,  with  other  documents,  in  a  leaden  box  below 
the  south  pillar  of  the  portico. 

The  Building  Committee  of  the  house  recently  taken  down,  were  Jonathan 
Huntington,  Nathaniel  Wales,  and  Thomas  Welch.  The  Building  Committee 
for  the  house  recently  erected— Justin  Swift,  Abner  Follet,  Chester  A.  Wood- 
worth,  and  Christopher  Yerguson. 


33 

This  beautiful  and  pleasantly  located,  and  commodious  house 
of  worship,  erected  with  great  unanimity,  and  paid  for  with 
most  commendable  enterprize  and  generosity,  was  completed 
in  March,  1849 ;  and  on  the  29th  of  the  same  month,  was  ded- 
icated to  the  FATHER,  SON,  and  HOLY  SPIRIT.  The  sermon  on 
that  occasion  was  preached  by  the  pastor  from  the  122nd 
Psalm,  1st  verse,  "  I  was  glad  when  they  said  unto  me,  Let  us 
go  into  the  house  of  the  Lord." 

In  view  of  this  summary  of  our  history  as  a  church  and 
people,  I  would  offer  a  few  remarks.  And 

1.  We  see  abundant  cause  of  gratitude  *for  the  present  de- 
gree of  prosperity  which  we  are  permitted  to  enjoy,  notwith- 
standing our  exceeding  unworthiness  before  God. 

2.  We  see  abundant  cause  of  gratitude  for  the  rich  legacy 
we  have  received  from  our  early  fathers,  the  early  settlers  and 
residents  of  this  place  ;  in  their  love  to  Zion  ;  and  enterprize  in 
things  that  concern  the  welfare  of  Zion ;  in  their  holy  exam- 
ples, and  their  fervent  prayers. 

3.  We  see  the  folly  of  attempting  to  overturn  a  church 
founded  by  holy  men,  who  trust  in  GOD  and  seek  his  glory. 
Not  one  church,  probably,  founded   by  the  early  Puritan   set- 
tlers of  New  England,  whom  GOD  sent  here  to  recover  the  land 
from  the  desolation  of  a  savage  wilderness,  to  form  its  civil 
institutions,  and  to  plant  its  churches  in  his  name  and  for  his 
glory,  has  been  overthrown  by  the  enemies  of  religion.     This 
work  of  our  fathers  was  of  GOD,  and  GOD'S  hand  has  been  en- 
gaged in  the  protection  of  their  work.     It  is  from  other  causes 
than  the  opposition  of  the  enemies  of  true  religion  that  churches 
suffer  any  permanent  injury.     Those  who  array  themselves 
against  the  church  may  injure  themselves  ;  they  may  destroy 
their  own  peace,  and  their  own  character,  and  make  a  sacrifice 
of  their  immortal  souls  ;  but  the  church  to  which  their  hostility 
is  directed  will  live  and  flourish. 

4.  We  see  the  destructive  influence  of  those  persons,  who 
oppose  the  labors  of  a  conscientious  and  pious  ministry. 

Parents  who  follow  this  pernicious  course  often  do  unspeak- 
able harm  to  their  children.  They  fortify  them  against  the 
very  instrumentalities  which  are  calculated  to  promote  their 
5 


34 

highest  welfare.  Will  they  go  to  the  sanctuary  to  hear  the 
minister  preach  whom  their  parents  virtually  instruct  them  to 
despise  ?  Or  if  they  go,  will  they  give  heed  to  what  he  says  ? 
They  become  profane  :  the  minister  can  do  nothing  to 
recover  them  from  this  vice.  They  become  intemperate  :  the 
minister's  exhortations  and  reproofs  avail  nothing.  For  him 
and  his  opinions  they  have  no  respect.  It  is  the  minister's 
business  to  draw  them  from  their  follies,  into  the  path  of  wis- 
dom, to  persuade  them  to  honor  their  parents,  to  fear  GOD,  to 
keep  his  commandments,  and  lay  up  treasures  in  heaven.  And 
all  this  the  parents,  counteract  by  their  unwise  conduct. 

The  vice  that  has  prevailed  in  this  place,  in  some  former  peri- 
ods, to  so  great  an  extent,  and  the  results  of  which  we  even  now 
feel,  is  in  no  small  degree  to  be  attributed  to  the  conduct  I  am 
alluding  to,  in  parents  and  persons  in  elevated  and  influential 
circumstances.  If  there  had  not  been,  in  certain  periods,  such 
opposition  to  the  ministry  here,  the  morals  of  the  place  would 
have  been  then,  and  would  be  now,  much  better.  The  property 
of  the  place  would  have  been,  and  would  be  now,  much  more 
valuable.  The  soil  of  these  farms  would  be  more  productive. 
Many  of  the  farms  in  this  society  have  been  repeatedly  drank 
up  by  their  intemperate  proprietors — some  of  them  more  than 
once  in  the  memory  of  aged  citizens  now  living.  Did  this  sort 
of  morals  proceed  from  the  preaching  of  the  ministers  ?  It  is 
known  by  every  one  that  it  was  the  result  of  disregarding  the 
ministers.*  They  reasoned  of  righteousness  and  temperance 
to  a  people  who  never  heard  them,  or  treated  their  doctrine 
with  contempt.  And  here  let  me  venture  to  assert  that  an  up- 
right minister,  who,  in  the  fear  of  GOD,  and  without  respect  to 
the  fear  or  favor  of  men,  takes  upon  him  the  ungracious  task 
of  admonishing  the  people  of  their  vices,  and  urging  them  to 
forsake  them  for  the  ways  of  industry,  sobriety,  and  every  vir- 
tue ;  who  endeavors  to  persuade  the  people  to  flee  from  the 


*  Perhaps  there  is  danger  that  a  false  impression  may  be  made,  by  what  is 
said  respecting  the  morals  of  the  people.  I  would  therefore  say  that  in  these 
days  there  is  probably  no  very  great  difference  in  this  matter,  between  this  town 
and  others  of  the  same  size  in  the  state.  There  has  certainly  been  a  very 
decided  change  for  the  better  within  forty  or  fifty  years. 


35 

wrath  to  come,  and  prepare  for  the  glory  and  bliss  of  heaven, 
is  the  greatest  friend  they  have.  Those  that  arrive  at  heaven 
through  their  faithful  instrumentality,  will  acknowledge  it  with 
joy  ;  and  those  who  perish  in  spite  of  their  instrumentality,  will 
also  acknowledge  it,  though  with  unavailing  sorrow. 

5.  The  history  of  our  church,  to  which  our  thoughts  have 
been  turned  this  day,  instructs  us  to  humble  ourselves  before 
GOD  for  our  present  and  past  unfaithfulness  and  unbelief;  and 
to  seek  the  LORD  with  an  earnest  faith,  for  his  continued  bles- 
sing. The  GOD  of  Abraham,  and  Isaac,  and  Jacob,  the  GOD  of 
the  Pilgrim  Fathers,  the  GOD  of  the  fathers  of  this  church  and 
people,  will  remember  us  with  blessings  if  we  wait  upon  him. 

And  when  another  anniversary  of  our  church  origin  is 
observed,  fifty  years  to  come,  though  most  of  us,  if  not  all,  will 
be  sleeping  with  the  congregation  of  the  dead,  the  day  may 
be  observed  by  a  more  holy,  more  grateful,  and  more  pros- 
perous people. 

"Now  unto  him  that  is  able  to  keep  you  from  falling,  and  to 
present  you  faultless  before  the  presence  of  his  glory  with 
exceeding  joy,  to  the  only  wise  GOD  our  Saviour,  be  glory  and 
majesty,  dominion  and  power,  both  now,  and  ever,  Amen." 


NOTE. — The  first  child  born  in  Windham  was  Ebenezer  Jennings :  born  1691. 

Arthur  Bebins  died,  1788,  aged  108. 

Samuel  Lincoln  died,  1794,  aged  101. 

Nathaniel  Lincoln,  died,  1834,  aged  105.  This  man  was  accustomed  to 
come  four  miles  to  meeting,  on  foot,  after  he  was  an  hundred  years  old. 

Mrs.  Sarah  Kingsley  died,  1842,  aged  99  years,  8  months. 

Mrs.  Susanna  Kingsley  died,  1846,  aged  100  years,  9  months. 

The  house  in  which  the  church  is  said  to  have  been  organized,  was  about  a 
mile  north  of  the  public  square.  It  has  been  taken  away,  but  is  still  remem- 
bered by  many  of  the  citizens,  as  the  "  Dingley  house." 

The  following  is  the  inscription  on  the  monument  of  Lieut.  Gates.  "  In 
memory  of  Mr.  John  Gates.  He  was  a  gentleman  born  in  England,  and  the 
first  setteller  of  the  Town  of  Windham.  By  his  last  Will  and  Testament,  he 
gave  a  generous  Legacy  to  ye  first  church  of  Christ  in  Windham,  in  plate,  and 
a  generous  Legacy  in  land  for  ye  support  of  ye  poor,  and  another  Legacy  for 
ye  support  of  ye  school  in  said  Town  forever.  He  died  in  Windham  July  ye 
16th,  A.  D.  1697. 


RELIGIOUS  EXERCISES  IN  OBSERVANCE  OF  THE  DAY, 

DEC.  lOra,  1850. 


The  churches  that  had  been  formed  as  colonies  from  this,  were  invited,  with 
their  pastors,  to  spend  the  day  with  us. 

Convened  in  the  house  of  GOD,  at  11,  A.  M. 

After  singing,  by  the  choir,  the  14Sth  Psalm,  H.  M.,  tune,  Lenox,  the  pastor 
read  an  extract  from  the  records  of  the  church,  relating  to  the  observance  of 
the  Hundredth  Anniversary,  50  years  ago. 

Then  followed  the  Invocation  and  Reading  the  Scriptures,  by  Rev.  Allen 
Clark,  formerly  a  member  of  this  church.  Singing;  the  14Sth  Psalm,  1st 
part,  L.  M. ;  tune,  Exfoliation. 

Introductory  prayer ;  by  Rev.  Thomas  Tallman,  pastor  of  the  church  in 
Scotland. 

Singing;  the  44th  Psalm,  3d  part,  C,  M. ;  tune,  Archdale. 

Historical  Discourse ;  by  the  pastor. 

Prayer  ;  by  Rev.  Elijah  B.  Huntington,  of  Quinebaug,  related  to  this  church 
by  marriage. 

Singing;  the  575th  Hymn,  L.  M. ;  tune,  Mendon. 

The  Lord's  Supper  was  then  administered.  Rev.  Samuel  G.  Willard,  pas- 
tor of  the  church  in  Willimantic,  Rev.  Richard  Woodruff,  stated  supply  of 
the  church  in  Hampton,  and  Rev.  Anson  S.  Atwood,  pastor  of  the  church  in 
Mansfield  Centre,  officiated  at  the  table,  each  of  them  making  an  address. 

The  137th  Psalm,  4th  part,  S.  M.,  and  the  Wt\ Psalm,  1st  part,  L.  M. 
were  sung  at  the  table. 

The  Benediction  was  pronounced  by  Rev.  George  J.  Harrison,  of  Franklin. 

On  motion  of  Deacon  Thomas  "Welch,  it  was  then  "  Voted :  that  we  adjourn 
to  meet  in  this  place,  on  the  TWO  HUNDREDTH  ANNIVERSARY  of  the  church,  Dec. 
10th,  1900." 


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